The Chinese NDRC opens a broad investigation into pharmaceutical pricing

Earlier this month, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) announced that it is conducting a wide-ranging probe into the costs and prices of pharmaceutical products sold by more than 60 multinational and domestic companies. NDRC has broad powers to enforce China’s Price Law, including setting the Maximum Retail Price (“MRP”) for drugs and vaccines that are covered by the National Reimbursement Drug List (“covered drugs”). [1] NDRC also enforces the price- related provisions of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (“AML”), such as the AML’s prohibitions against resale price maintenance, price discrimination, and the charging by “dominant” companies of “unfairly high prices.” This client alert provides an overview of the NDRC’s investigation and a brief discussion of its